Publisher's Summary

"My first experience of Shakespeare was reading it out in class and none of us understanding it, and we only got it when we saw the Zeffirelli film of Romeo and Juliet and realised - oh it’s a story! Why didn't he say that!"

Starting at the recreated globe theatre, Lenny takes a journey of discovery through the plays he's now passionate about to find out why we so often put the bard on a pedestal. With leading contemporary performance specialists, actors and directors including Adrian Lester, Judi Dench, Peter Hall, Trevor Nunn, Barry Rutter, Dominic Dromgoole, and Patsy Rodenburg.